Once Upon a Sprite's Spell
by greetingsfrommaars
Summary: "Mommy, tell me a story!" "Okay, honey. Once upon a time, there was a poor boy named Natsu. He lived with his scary stepsister, Mirajane..." Basically, a series of one/two/few-shots taking Fairy Tail characters and rewriting them into classic fairy tales (or tails, if you prefer :D). Pairings will vary, but open to suggestions! Probably mostly AU.
1. Cindernatsu part I

**Hello! This is the first of a series of short one/twoshots I have planned, basically taking traditional fairy tales and plonking Fairy Tail characters in them. I know other people have done this already, but I think it'll be fun, and hopefully my ideas are original! *optimism, baby!* Here goes!**

**I now present part I of**

**CINDERNATSU**

* * *

"An egg! Look, Lisanna! I found an egg!"

The little girl turned to the door of the hut, her eyes widening in delight as she watched her salmon-haired nii-san make his way towards her, cupping a stone-sized white egg in his hands.

"Really? What kind of egg do you think it is?" asked Lisanna, staring at it hopefully.

"A dragon egg! And I'm gonna hatch it!" Natsu gloated, grinning at her.

"Ooh, can I help? It sounds like fun!" Lisanna clapped her hands excitedly.

"Oh, you're going to help me? But how do you go about hatching an egg anyway?" Natsu wondered. He gave it a burning glare, as if it would crack open under his heated gaze.

"I read in a book once that eggs only hatch if you warm them up!" suggested Lisanna.

"Warm them up?" Natsu slowly turned to the drawer he knew had the matches in it, a manic grin spreading across his face.

**-SMASH-**

"Eep!"

"WHO'S GOING TO _WARM UP_ THE LITTLE TWIT? DON'T THINK I FORGOT ABOUT THE LAST TIME WE LET YOU HANDLE THE MATCHES! YOU BURNED DOWN HALF THE VILLAGE, YOU LITTLE-! WHOSE FAULT IS IT THAT WE'RE LIVING IN THIS HUT NOW?!"

The pyromaniac in question cowered among the remains of the hut's only table. Emanating an absolutely dark aura of rage, Mirajane loomed over him in all her black leather glory. As he shielded his "dragon egg" from the Demon's wrath, Natsu wondered if the Devil herself had finally shown up to punish him for his sins.

"Nee-chan…" Elfman turned from the stove in the corner, concerned for the furniture and more than a little scared of his sister.

"Mira-nee, that's our third table in a month! Master said he wouldn't pay for any more after the last one." Lisanna whined, walking away to Elfman's corner where none of the furniture was cracked yet.

"Hmph. We don't need that old geezer to buy tables for us! We'll eat from the floor!" declared Mirajane, defiantly planting her hands on her hips.

"Yeah right…" muttered Natsu, "and die from the wood splinters all over it, no thanks to you, crazy b—"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" roared the Demon, turning on him again with a dangerous glint in her eyes. She smacked a severed table leg against her palm threateningly.

"S-scary…" Natsu nervously scuttled backwards to escape her wrath, before realizing his hands were now empty. "Wait—where did—MY EGG!"

The newfound egg was a puddle of goo and white shards on the floor, dropped by its owner when a Demon startled him. As the white-haired siblings watched and Natsu blanched in horror, a small blue cat ran up and started licking the puddle. Scrunching his nose and strolling away from the unappetizing mess, the cat ignored Natsu slowly crumbling to the floor in despair.

"Hahaha! That ridiculous egg would never be as tasty as fish, huh, cat?" Mirajane snickered.

"HAPPY! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO MY DRAGON EGG?" wailed Natsu.

"WHO CALLED IT A DRAGON EGG, YOU IDIOT? SHUT UP AND SUCK IT UP ALREADY! THIS MESS IS YOUR FAULT, YOU KNOW!" shouted Mirajane, reentering Demon mode.

"Sheesh… as noisy as ever in the evening, I see…" Standing at the doorway, Warren watched the chaos in the hut with an exhausted expression. "Even though we came, I almost don't want to set her off too just to tell them…"

"Psh. Move over, then." Max shoved his friend into the doorframe, leaning into the hut to talk to his neighbors. "Oi, Mirajane! Natsu! Listen up! The Princess of Heartphilia, Lucy, is holding a ball tomorrow night at the castle. Apparently she's looking for a suitable candidate to be her fiancé. Master says that everyone from Magnolia Village can go, so you'd better! I don't want to be alone!"

"A ball?" Mirajane let her makeshift club rest on the floor, glancing at Elfman thoughtfully.

"My egg…" Natsu deflated on the floor despondently, staring at Happy. He could've sworn the cat stuck its tongue out at him.

"Max, what was that for?! For a thatch hut, the doorframe's pretty hard, you know!" Warren rubbed his shoulder, wincing and glaring at his best friend.

"Yeah, yeah, Warren. I hear ya. So, be there at the castle tomorrow, okay?" Max said cheerfully to the hut's inhabitants. He turned and sauntered away, nodding at his friend's complaints with an oblivious grin.

"A ball…" repeated Mirajane, staring at her brother with a strange expression on her face.

* * *

"All right! That should be it!" Natsu stood up, wiping his face with the back of his hand and grinning at his handiwork. After ten minutes of outlandish threats from Mirajane about all the things she would do to him and his sorry behind if he reduced their humble abode to char again, she finally allowed him to stock up the firewood for the hut.

"Well then—it's time! I'm all fired up!" cheered Natsu as he dashed back inside.

Mirajane swore as she jabbed herself with the needle she was using, startled by Natsu's unexpected entrance. She had sent him out for the firewood anticipating his mindless dawdling, daydreaming about great roars of brilliant flame, the crushing fangs on the fringe of a blazing crimson lotus, a single yellow spark inciting an exploding flame blade snaking and burning its way across the floorboards… there were so many aspects of fire for the self-proclaimed Fire Dragon Slayer to fantasize about while handling the kindling. How had he finished the job so quickly?

"So, whatcha doing, Mira-chan?"

Mira-chan? So the little fireball thought he could get all buddy-buddy with her now? She sniffed and let it slide. The ball was starting soon, and she didn't have the time to bash his arrogant chumminess into shape.

"Sewing a coat for Elfman. This is his chance to show those fools that he's a man, and not just a sloppily smiling, cooking sissy." Ignoring the blood pooling from the needle prick on her fingertip, Mirajane held up the blue swathe of _manliness_ before her and studied it for crooked stitches.

"Pfft—HAHAHA! What's that supposed to mean, "The Greatest"? _Elfman?_ No way!" Natsu chortled, seeing the kanji she had embroidered on the back.

"Aw, be nice, Natsu-nii! Elf-nii tries, you know. He even made a cake with a dragon on it for you last week!" admonished Lisanna from the doorway, returning from the village well with her brother.

"ELFMAN!"

"Y-yeah?" stuttered the teen uncertainly, quailing under his sister's stern stare.

"Try this on! Now!" Mirajane threw the coat at him before he could reply, as he was forced to catch it with his face. Sighing, Elfman retreated with it to the back of the hut with a resigned expression. As he turned around to reluctantly model the _manly_ swathe for them, Mirajane clapped her hands excitedly, Lisanna gave him a supportive thumbs-up, and Natsu desperately tried to hold in his laughter and avoid the Demon's wrath.

"Okay, the man of the house is ready now! To the ball!" shouted Mirajane, dragging her brother to the door. Lisanna noted his unhappy grimace at the thought of more public _manliness_ and sent him an encouraging smile.

"Hey, wait for me! I haven't gotten ready yet!" complained Natsu. Rushing around the hut looking for his scarf, the boy didn't notice that his evil stepsister had come to a sudden, ominous halt in the door at his words.

Humming tunelessly and rummaging around the counter, Natsu realized he could hear a sound coming from the doorway, not unlike a fairly tall teen's teeth chattering. Why would Elfman be scared? The resident pyromaniac turned his head slowly….

"WHEN DID ANYONE SAY _YOU_ COULD COME TO THE BALL, LITTLE TURD?! YOU'RE A FIVE-ALARM FIRE WAITING TO HAPPEN! AND BURN DOWN OUR PRINCESS'S CASTLE!"

Crouching into the counter in fear, Natsu saw Lisanna saluting at him cheerfully and the blue cat sticking out its tongue at him again through the dark haze that was the Demon's fury taking visible form.

"SO YOU'RE JUST GOING TO LEAVE YOUR CUTE LITTLE SISTER ALONE IN THIS SORRY EXCUSE FOR A HUT, VULNERABLE TO ANY PASSING VILLAGE HOOLIGAN? WHAT KIND OF HEARTLESS STEPBROTHER ARE YOU?!"

"Hey, I heard that, you know… And we're not _that _bad…" ventured Warren, who had just arrived by the door with Max.

"Oh, hello, Warren," said Mirajane, before giving Natsu a last warning. "When we get back, you and Lisanna had better be sitting at the table like good little tykes, YOU HEAR?"

"Sorry, Natsu," laughed Max. "You know we don't dare go against Magnolia Village's Demon on this."

The salmon-haired boy cautiously slunk towards the table, heeding Mirajane's warning, but sulking as he watched Lisanna tell the others to go have fun at the princess's castle.

After the ball-goers left, grudgingly manly Elfman in tow, Natsu and Lisanna sat quietly at the table for half an hour. Although she appreciated the quiet time to consider which was cuter, a green and pink bird or a purple rabbit, Lisanna was starting to get bored.

"Natsu-nii… don't you think… we should actually do something?" asked the girl, looking at her stepbrother expectantly.

He didn't seem to have heard her, slouching grumpily against the table and muttering about stubborn Demons and their stupid rules.

Lisanna sighed, pouting and blowing up at her fringe of bangs grumpily.

Someone sneezed.

"Honestly, I told that Evergreen that pixie dust was ineffective. If all the operatives go on sneezing like this on every mission, what will the other guilds think of us?"

Turning around, Natsu and Lisanna were surprised to find a tall, scarlet-haired woman in regal green armor standing erect by the kitchen counter behind them. When did that get there?

"Natsu Dragneel!" The fairy pointed a finger at him commandingly.

"Yeah?" replied the pyromaniac, overlooking the question of how this stranger entered in the first place and wondering how her armor would look engulfed in blue flame.

"Why are you not at the Princess's ball? You fool!" chided the fairy.

"But Mira'll murder me if I leave Lisanna-chan here!" protested Natsu.

"Uh… who are you, sparkly lady?" asked his sister in confusion.

"I am Natsu's fairy godmother, Erza of Fairy Tail! I am here to guide him on his extraordinary sojourn to eternal bliss. And we will embark on this journey by finding his One True Love!" explained Erza, with pride, but as if rattling off a mantra repeated routinely.

"You mean there's someone out there who'll love Natsu-nii and burn stuff with him?" inquired Lisanna, tilting her head curiously.

"Indeed!" answered Erza, straightening up proudly at the thought of a successful matchmaking mission. Master had entrusted her with this vital quest, and she would not fail him. For, if she did, as penance she would surely have to endure a few dozen hours outside in the sweltering summer weather, donning her heaviest armor. On this thought, she turned to Natsu again.

"Why are you not at the ball?" she repeated, scowling at him indignantly.

"Because I don't want a crazy ass Demon to slaughter me!" he insisted, avoiding her keen gaze.

"But you must find your One True Love!" declared Erza.

"But I don't wanna find my One True Love! I wanna live and figure out where Mira hid the matches—"

Natsu was cut off by a sudden chill gliding through the hut. Looking back up to his supernatural guardian, he was alarmed to see her staring at him ominously, yet exuding an aura of dangerously pink sparkles.

"_You must find your one true love_…" echoed Erza in a distant voice. A magical scintillating background suddenly unfurling behind her, she lifted her hand and gazed fervently into a particularly cobwebby corner of the hut, clearly beholding there a future Natsu, no doubt serving his love the soothing tea of mutual devotion like a proper courteous gentleman, barring the crooked matches stuffed into his back pocket…

"So!" declared Erza, coming back to attention and startling Natsu. "There is no time to dilly-dally. You must make ready, posthaste!"

Ignoring Natsu's protests, the fairy raised her hands majestically. As she slowly lowered her arms, arcs of giant pink sparkles scintillated out in their wake, spinning through the air to envelop Natsu and Happy. Before they could react, the sparkles dissipated to reveal Natsu with clean, unscorched clothes, and Happy with… wings?

"Go forth, Natsu Dragneel! You shall find your One True Love. _Or there will be much penance in your future…_" intoned Erza, as Happy swooped around the small hut, meowing enthusiastically.

"She says "One True Love" too much…" commented Lisanna, her eyes following the blue cat in mild shock as he flew over to Natsu, before unsheathing his claws and latching on to his scarf.

"Wait! Why are you taking me? HAPPY, LET GO OF MY SCARF! WHAT ARE YOU MMPHGBM—" Before Natsu could continue, Happy took off for the door, dragging the scarf over the bottom half of his owner's face.

"Mavis-speed, my gallant knight! Do not waver in your journey!" called Erza after them, as Happy misjudged distances and bonked Natsu's head on the doorframe, and then the village gates.

"Good luck, Natsu-nii… it looks like you'll need it," sighed Lisanna, not bothering to wave as the airborne pair had their faces too full of treetops to see her anyway.

"Mmmgph…" moaned Natsu, feeling Happy's claws begin to dig into his neck. _Geez, that fairy lady's almost as bad as Mirajane…_

* * *

Half an hour later, Erza judged that the gallant knight and his noble feline would be halfway to the Princess's castle. Humming cheerfully in anticipation of a mission soon accomplished, she pulled a small crystalline ball out of her armor and peered at it.

"What's that?" asked Lisanna. If her only pink-haired source of entertainment was gone, she might as well see what the sparkly lady was up to.

"It is a lacryma communicator. I shall use it to correspond with Natsu through the feline's collar." As Erza spoke, a shimmering image of Natsu's surprised and disgruntled face appeared on the wall before them.

"Wow…" Lisanna was impressed.

"What do you want _now_, fairy?" Natsu was not. The night sky rushed by in the background of the apparition. Apparently blue cats could fly pretty fast when they put their minds to it.

"Is that a tone of _disrespect_ I sense in your words, Dragneel?" questioned Erza. Her eyebrows shifted into a sharp, angry angle over her piercing eyes.

"N-no…" Natsu, after much experience with Demon mode, had learned to let tranquil she-devils be.

"It is of no matter," sniffed Erza. Natsu, watching her expression in the image projected from Happy's collar, relaxed slightly in response.

"I was just letting you know that Happy's transformation magic has a time limit. By my calculation, it should end in 3 seconds," she continued.

2…

1…

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT EARLIER?!"

**So... in case it's not clear, Natsu is Cinderella. hehe. Since Lisanna hasn't died in this timeline, Mirajane is still the scary Demon punk. I was originally thinking of having Mira be the fairy godmother, but then thought that scary sparkly Erza would be funnier XD And of course Happy is Cinderella's happy animal friends all rolled into one blue feline.**

**Part II will focus on Lucy. And some other characters will make their appearances! Look forward to it!**

**Feel free to give suggestions for other fairy tales. I have ideas for some of them, but any feedback would be appreciated :)**

**Oh, and I'm not limited to any particular pairing, so just go crazy. Actually, no, don't go crazy. Fangirl within justifiably sane limits :D Also, I'm kind of at a loss with what to do about the title... suggestions for that would be really helpful too.**

**Till next time, folks! *salutes***


	2. Chapter 2: Princess Radiant

**obviously, this has actually been in the works for a while. I didn't see it coming, but I'm turning into your typical unreliably updating fanfiction author! woot woot XD**

**forgot to say in part I, this particular story is NaLu. duh… XD I'm open to other pairings for later ones, though. {just in case you have any suggestions.]**

**hugs and superkitties to all my followers, especially my one reviewer, phantomia-fantasy! :D oh, and the one favorite, ana dragneel-chan! I assure you I do a complete happy dance whenever I receive the notification for a new follower, even in school in the middle of a hallway. XD**

**without further ado, here is part II of Cindernatsu!**

* * *

"The ball tonight is for political purposes only. Several eminent dignitaries will be in attendance, and as their gracious host you are expected to greet them with the utmost of cordiality…"

The Princess of Heartphilia stood at attention before her father, knowing that downstairs the servants were in a frenzy preparing for her ball. When she passed through earlier, she wondered if she should greet them at all, hurrying and scurrying about as they were. Here in her father's study, the upcoming fête felt more like a carefully plotted military maneuver on a life-size chessboard than a celebration. The king remained seated behind his desk, never once glancing up from the papers before him to meet his daughter's eyes.

"In addition, the Duke of Everlue has sent a courier in advance to announce his arrival. You will receive the Duke with the same cordiality as any other guest in the honored hall of Heartphilia." The king's fingers tightened around his eagle-feather quill momentarily, recalling the altercation that occurred the first time the two had met. The foolish girl had taken offense at the Duke's offhand comments concerning her figure, and his diplomatic relations with the wealthy province suffered as a result. His mouth tightened slightly in a minute frown.

Lucy tried not to scowl at the mention of the bête noire of her aristocratic existence. _A regal, courteous lady, like mother_, she reminded herself.

"That will be all." Jude continued inking the parchment in front of him.

She paused where she stood for a moment, wondering if her father was really dismissing her without addressing the purpose of finding a fiancé at all. Darting a glance at him doubtfully, the Princess turned and swept out of the chamber as gracefully as she could. Better to take her leave before here could start questioning her mental capacity, if she continued to linger there like a village loon who couldn't be bothered to recognize a dismissal if it landed in her three o'clock tea.

Striding out the door and turning its inlaid handle shut behind her, the Princess did not see her father look up from his desk for a moment, following her movements with a remorseful eye. A wistful wisp of a sigh escaped from his lips.

* * *

"Come now, Miss Lucy. If you pout and whine like this, you'll never get yourself a beau."

Lucy rolled her eyes as her bodyguard, Aquarius, once again launched into the tirade she titled "the sad, sad nothing of the Princess's love life". The older girl was reclining on Lucy's bed, irreverent as usual. Cancer, the palace coiffeur, combed the princess's hair silently.

"Aquarius, that's not the point. It's just another formal ball for father's politicking…" Lucy trailed off when she felt her bodyguard stiffen, emitting an icy aura.

"Do you mean to say that all my hard work getting you ready will go to _waste_, your _Highness_?" threatened Aquarius, forming a rigid fist… She glared at the comb in Cancer's hand as if gauging its effectiveness for a trident-style attack.

"N-no…" Lucy squeaked, shivering in the waves of chilly blue rage surrounding her bodyguard.

"Aquarius, you're not actually doing anything, ebi," Cancer commented, working through a small knot in their liege's hair.

"Hmph." Aquarius turned away, scowling, and examined her sea-green fingernails for chipped nail polish.

**-BANG-**

A pink-haired handmaiden, after tripping over the odd dog-like creature in front of her Princess's bedchamber, had unceremoniously knocked the doors open with her horns.

"I'm ever so fluffily sorry, your Grace!" cried Aries, scrambling up from the floor and bowing profusely. She was not injured, thanks to the plush pink wool carpeting, which she had made herself. Aquarius looked unimpressed.

"No, it is fine, Aries-chan," Lucy replied, smiling at the mirror, since Cancer wouldn't let her turn her head. "So, why have you come?"

"Ah! I just came to say that milady's gown is finished, fluffily!" Aries announced, beaming from where she still knelt on the floor.

"I trust it will fit perfectly, as with all your other gowns, Aries-chan," replied Lucy to the mirror.

"If it doesn't fit, we'll just have to make some _adjustments_…" Aquarius reached for a hidden knife threateningly. She smirked as her princess turned a few shades paler. Lucy started, feeling an appraising tug on a lock of her hair.

"A splendid cut, milady, ebi." His job finished, Cancer backed away, flourishing the scissors in the air with a _snap_.

"Hmph. Mediocre, but it'll do for _you_," Aquarius judged. Lucy's mouth twitched in irritation. What did _that_ imply?

"I think you look fluffily lovely, your Grace." Aries curtsied shyly. "And… Aquarius, don't you have a date with the captain of the Guard?"

Lucy winced as a storm of blue sparkles immediately spun out and whirled in the air around her bodyguard's head. Aquarius's eyes widened in expectant ecstasy, as she reveled in a vision of her night to come.

"I have the perfect dress. It's a blue fishtail, it'll set off my hair perfectly! And it'll match with the Heartphilia Guard uniform. He looks simply _darling_ in his Guard uniform. And he's such a gentleman, too! He looks so _dashing _by the cannons on the castle walls, doesn't he? The way he talks is so adorable, too. Did I mention the Guard uniform? And _such _roguish eyes…"

Lucy absently smiled at her enthusiastic friend. Would she be so lucky in romance, she wondered?

* * *

There was a thrum of dignified anticipation in the air. Under the mosaic surface of the peaky vaulted ceiling, the guests exchanged coy smiles and perfunctory comments about the bachelorette princess. She was looking radiant tonight, they told each other through aristocratic murmurs and giggles. Her flawlessly coiffed hair glinted in the light of the golden candelabras on each table, and the skirt of her dress swayed enticingly with each dainty step. Who would be her charmed suitor, they wondered?

Lucy huffed. After avoiding the Duke of Everlue and his gorilla-maid harem since sundown, she concluded that one could only dart gracefully around the Heartphilia ballroom, dodging gracious greetings from guests, for a certain amount of time before ending up winded. Aries had surpassed herself with this gown, indubitably, but Lucy would have preferred that it not cut such an eye-catching figure. It made elegantly skulking away from untoward Dukes rather difficult. Regarding the punch table and the ragged crowd surrounding it, she wondered if it would be safe. The duke would not expect her to fraternize with the local riffraff, correct? She recalled some of his comments about her conspicuous admiration for a particularly outlandish guild and grimaced. That Duke. No respect for a refined womanly figure.

As Lucy consider having a sip to refresh herself, she saw a scantily-dressed brunette ask a demure waiter to bring the castle's entire cellar of whiskey. What in tarnation was she going to do with _that_?

In any case, Lucy's throat was parched. She made her way to the table, wary of hirsute females in maid uniforms stalking her peripheral vision.

As she reached for a glass, someone addressed her in a cool voice.

"Nice party you've got here." Lucy turned to reply, but nearly dropped her glass. Where were his _clothes_?

"By the way," the dark-haired man continued. "You have some pretty nice underwear. Do you think I could borrow some?"

Downstairs, Virgo stared at the clothing line in confusion. _Where in earth is that laundry I hung out to dry? I surely must be punished._

_I-is he trying to woo me?_ questioned Lucy to herself. _I can't tell_… She shivered, feeling a warning of watery death from a blue-haired woman, who was crouching behind a nearby pillar.

"Gray," said the brunette Lucy saw before, now hugging a whiskey barrel possessively. "Your clothes."

"Gack! I know!" He ran off.

"Jeez. No dignity, these guys…" the brunette leaned back and chugged half the barrel in one go. Lucy gagged in shock.

"Oh my, you must be disappointed in the local folk, my lady…" Lucy gasped as a hand grasped her chin and turned her to face a man with an orange mane and sunglasses. "May I pour your gorgeous self a drink, princess?"

Lucy tried to focus her thoughts as he winked invitingly at her. _So forward… are all the common males like this?_

"Your eyes are as stars in the endless sky. They are the beacon of light guiding my unworthy love through the night…" He desultorily took the glass from her hands.

"Eh? Is that so?" Perhaps it was the custom to lay on the smarmy flattery this thick.

"Would you like to be my queen, miss?" He slung an arm around her waist, but froze. Her necklace glinted on her collarbone… a golden key, with the Heartphilia coat of arms in intaglio.

"Y-you're truly the Princess?! Royalty?" He shot back, before edging nervously behind a marble column.

"Yes…" Lucy stared at him, confused.

"So sorry! But it seems we were simply not meant to be!" The man whipped his hand, waved with a forced smile, and dashed off.

"Was there ever a 'we'?" wondered Lucy, feeling her skirt fly back in the turbulent breeze from his quick escape.

"That's not manly, Loke…" muttered a white-haired man behind her.

"Say it with more _oomph_, sissy brother!" A punk girl, apparently his sister, shook him by the collar. Lucy speculated as to whether their hair color was natural. Did they intend to have the appearance of a pair of elders in assisted living?

"THAT'S NOT MA—" his voice cracked—"nly."

His sister scowled.

A sizzled laugh came from behind Lucy. Five whiskey barrels were now empty.

"Don't mind 'em…" The brunette gave her a wobbly grin. "Crajy fools, the lot of 'em. The name'sh Cana, by-the-by…"

Lucy nodded uncertainly. "Honored to meet you… madam…" Should she shake her hand? "I am Lucy, Princess of Heartphilia."

"Oh, sho… thish izz yer party, _riiight_~?" Cana asked, ending in an off-key singsong voice.

"Yes." Lucy did not know how to interact with an intoxicated person. Perhaps some pomegranate juice…

A man with a cigarette and a poof of hair walked up and set down a glass of water next to Cana's elbow. She giggled.

"From Macau." He walked away, twiddling the cigarette between his lips.

Lucy watched her gulp down the water without a word. Who was Macau?

"Sooo… why don't I (hiccup) do a fortunetelling for you? (hiccup)" asked Cana cheerfully after dropping the glass back onto the table with a _thunk_. "As thanksss… for the great booze."

"Ah… if it pleases you!" answered Lucy, resolving to be a very good host to this loyal subject, after the fiascos with the precious two guests.

"Arrighty, then~" Cana pulled a deck of colorful cards from a pouch at her hips. Sitting cross-legged on the tiled marble floor, she began placing them in a star-shaped pattern.

Lucy was unfamiliar with this commoner practice. Although she had read about it in some of her many books, she was obviously no fairy tale protagonist, so she had no experience with these things. She observed quietly as Cana flipped up and pushed the cards around the polished stone surface. Lucy saw an elephant, a fountain, two hearts…

"Hrm… okay, ready?" Cana set a plain card down with finality and snatched another up, hiding the picture on it towards herself.

"Yes!" Now Lucy was curious.

"Today… you will have your yer Fateful Encounter!" Cana grinned, hiccupping and holding up a card with two lovers on it.

Lucy stared at her in surprise.

* * *

**I kind of get the feeling that here I'm starting to give Lucy an aura of being forever alone… hahaha. whoops.**

**by the way, the pink dress Lucy should be wearing I imagine is like the one she wore in episode 29, "My Resolve", or the corresponding manga chapter, which is around 67 or so.**

**I would like to clarify one thing for myself. I've seen many authors have a disclaimer of not owning the work the fanfic is for at the beginning of their chapters, but I don't remember reading anything about that in the publishing guidelines. Is this mandatory, or just a courtesy? Please help 3:O**


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